Rough and Delicate
by Hermione Granger Danger
Summary: Hermione's last year at Hogwarts. Will she fall in love with someone she never imagined? That someone being Draco Malfoy? Just another Dramione story.
1. Sparks at Platform 9 & three quarters

_Before starting the story, there are a few things you should know:_

_-The story takes place in Draco's & Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts._

_-The Events in Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince never happened._

_-Rough & Delicate is my first fanfic so don't be too bad with me._

_Note:____All of the characters, spells, scenes, etc. Belong to JKR, except some I created myself & you should be seeing them as the Story goes on. I__ thank__ JKR for creating this magical world._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 1: Sparks at Platform 9 & ¾**

Furious, Draco turned away from his father into Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross station in London. To his right lay the Hogwarts Express that had many doors open for its dozens of students that came up loaded with trunks & pets. The platform was crowded with them & their families who were leaving or helping students uploading their stuff on the train. There was no space even for a wand & Draco was making his way violently, hitting & pushing students here & there, leaving a trail of frightened students, shocked or upset to those who he occasionally gave a "Get out of the way. " But none of them dared to say anything, & Draco was sure they would not. He was Draco Malfoy, people feared or envied him & he loved that.

The arrogant grin that surfaced on his face had faded as he remembered the argument with his father & he felt the fury increasing inside. He quickened his pace & in his anger, Malfoy did not even see a girl standing on the platform, almost making her fall. At the same moment his body hit the girl, he felt a spark, like an electric current running through him completely & he walked away as if repulsed by that energy. Like two magnets.

"Be more careful, Malfoy," said the girl gently rubbing her arms. Draco looked up sharply, even shocked by what had just happened & then he saw her. It took a few long seconds to recognize the young woman who stood before him looking calm but upset & when he did he was stunned. She had grown a few inches more since the last time he saw her, her brown hair tousled & messy falling beyond the middle of her back, framing a face that had sharpened, losing the child's roundness & the muggle clothing she wore, especially her jeans, adhered perfectly to her body that, Draco noticed, had gained new & interesting curves. She had ... changed.

"Granger," he muttered in astonishment. She looked at him blankly wondering about his puzzled expression. Draco, regaining his composure, raised his face proudly & then he saw Harry Potter & Ronald Weasley flanking the girl. Draco looked at them & pursed his lips into a sneer of disdain & superiority.

"I'm surprised to know you've made it to seventh year, Weasley." he said referring to the redhead who blushed

."As to the Know-it-All & the Great Potter, Dumbledore's favorite, was expected ... but I was hoping not to have to endure so many blood traitors this year…luckily the last.

"You can always go home to your mother, Malfoy." Harry replied dryly. "I bet that way, she can stop looking like she smells shit when you're around."

Draco narrowed his eyes angrily. He quickly pulled his wand from the folds of his cloak & pointed it at Harry. He had done the same & now the two were face to face with the wands held high in the middle of Platform 9 & ¾, their bodies tense & ready to attack, shooting sparks from their eyes.

"Guys, please." Hermione began looking around nervously for the approach of an adult. "You could hurt someone."

Neither of them seemed to listen to the girl, they were too busy murdering the other with their eyes. She wrung her hands nervously & approached Harry, took him by the arm that wasn't holding the wand.

"Harry, we haven't even arrived at Hogwarts, do not get in trouble yet. Here you could hurt a student & ..." The girl looked over Harry's shoulder. "..Here comes Ms. Weasley, I think she could've seen you."

Given this statement, Harry looked at Malfoy for a long, tense moment, but finally gave up to the pleas of her friend & slowly lowered the wand without breaking eye contact with the Slytherin, who threw fire from his eyes. Draco continued pointing his wand at Harry for a few seconds, torn between casting a spell or not. But when he saw that Ms. Weasley was too close, he hid his wand quickly & gracefully in his coat. Before leaving, he said "At least I have a mother, Potter." & he threw one last look of disgust & disappeared into the scrum of students.

Hermione had not released Harry's arm yet & she had to grab him harder to prevent him from going to split Malfoy's head in the muggle style.

"Is everything all right, guys?" asked Mrs. Weasley reaching out to them & watching them with suspicion.

Harry just grunted, getting himself free of Hermione.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley." said Hermione quickly & glanced at Ron to warn him from speaking. "I think it's time for us to get on the Express."

Hermione quickly said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, & while Harry & Ron did the same, she boarded the Express. She unconsciously looked at both sides of the aisle that ran in front of her & felt some disappointment at not finding something. She wondered what she was looking for & at that moment, the image of a platinum-haired boy & icy blue eyes came to her mind. Ron & Harry had followed Ginny & they were all boarding the train.  
>"Let's find a compartment," said Harry still angry about the encounter with Malfoy.<p>

"Ronald & I have to go with the prefects for a while, & then we'll go with you." Hermione said softly.

"Well." Harry growled & walked away without another word. He strode down the aisle followed by Ginny. Ron watched his friend & his sister away with sorrow, & then he looked at Hermione.

"This time, Malfoy's crossed the line." he said. Hermione was quiet as they went into the prefects' carriage.

The prefects' carriage was the last of the Hogwarts Express, with wood walls, black leather-covered seats with rosewood tables here & there, & stamped with the insignia P everywhere. The two Gryffindors entered the car already occupied by almost all the other prefects of Hogwarts. Hermione discovered herself looking around the place to see where Malfoy was. She saw him sitting in an armchair, his legs casually crossed, feet resting on a table, lost in thought staring at the window & with his wand pressed strongly in his hands. She assumed that he was still angry about the encounter with Harry. As if sensing her gaze upon him, Malfoy looked at Hermione instantly. She blushed & turned her eyes elsewhere.

"Hello Hermione." Ernie McMillan greeted her with reverence. "How was your summer? You look tan."

"Oh, it was good, Ernie. I went on vacation with my parents to Marseille." said Hermione while looking through the corner of her eye as Pansy Parkinson approached Malfoy. "& how was yours?"

Ernie did not respond, in fact he didn't seem to hear her, he was too busy watching. Ron glared & nudged Ernie to reality.

"What? Eh ... ah, yes, mine was well ... well, yes." she managed to stammer, blushing a little & avoiding Hermione's gaze. "I think I'm going to sit with Hannah. Glad to see you, Hermione." he added, smiling foolishly. Ron coughed. "Huh ... & you too, Ron, of course."

& without another word & red as a tomato, he got away from the chairs in search of her companion Hannah. Hermione turned to Ron.

"It was very strange, don't you think?"

"He has always been a fool." said Ron grimly.

A few yards away Draco watched the scene with a barely concealed sneer. That stupid Ernie had behaved like a slob in front of that mudblood. It was true that she had improved slightly but he could never find her attractive or even interesting. Instead, sitting next to Pansy who was blinking through her thick lashes, he thought she was a much more tempting view. Trying to imitate her smile, he lay his arm behind Pansy's shoulder. She happily curled up against him while he glanced at the Gryffindor girl who had her back to him. "Draco, what are you looking at?" Pansy inquired watching with bright eyes.

"Nobody." he said looking out the window now.

Pansy paused, thinking that she had not asked who he was looking at, but what he was looking at. She was too happy in the arms of the Slytherin to continue thinking about it.

Hermione walked thoughtfully in the corridors of the Express with a bag of chocolates filled with love potions on one hand. The bag had been confiscated from some third-year students who roamed around Harry's compartment. Hermione suspected that the girls wanted to give his friend some candies, hoping he'd fall in love with one of them. He had gotten very popular with everything about Voldemort going on. She looked up from the bag & saw Draco Malfoy, coming out of a compartment with a bunch of chocolate frogs in his hand. He was smiling mischievously & the girl suspected that he had taken them from a student, abusing his authority as a prefect, something typical of Malfoy.

A small student who must be a first-year by her appearance collided with the Slytherin, throwing a couple of chocolate frogs in the process. He glared in a way that made the girl be in the verge of tears & Hermione approached them at full speed sensing what was coming.

"Be more careful." That stupid brat Malfoy snapped. "Ten points from your house to learn to look where you're going."

"We have not arrived at Hogwarts yet." Hermione said putting an arm over her shoulders to comfort the girl. "So you cannot take away points, plus I think she's a first-year, she may not even have a house yet."

"Do not tell me what I can & can't do, Mrs. Know-it-All, & mind your own business. Shouldn't you be comforting Potter? He's probably crying over what I said about his mother."

Hermione looked as if she saw him for the first time & her eyes were sad.

"You're so cruel." She said as if surprised about it.

"Oh," he said faking a melodramatic wince. "You offend me, Granger."

"Let's go, I'll walk you to your compartment," said Hermione, addressing the child & she turned around without taking a look over at the Slytherin. But as they prepared to leave, Hermione saw Crookshanks walking down the aisle.

"Crookshanks, what are you doing here?" she asked in amazement. She thought he could have escaped the compartment when he went to visit Harry. She bent down & called him, but the cinnamon cat walked past & went to Slytherin. Draco stood there looking at Crookshanks the cat while he stared at him. Malfoy could have sworn that cat with a squashed face, was studying & measuring him, but he didn't think that was possible. As if he had taken a verdict on him, the cat meowed softly & stood between the boy's legs, rubbing gently against him, almost affectionately.

Hermione was stunned to see Crookshanks so kind to a stranger, & also not a stranger either, but with Draco Malfoy. Your cat proved to be very good at judging people & often had known before her, who were her friends & those who were enemies. & judging by their behavior, Crookshanks approved Malfoy.

Hermione didn't know what to think. First that spark she had felt when she hit Malfoy now that Crookshanks was behaving so strangely with him. She shivered & decided she did not want to keep thinking about it, so she nervously approached Malfoy, picked up her cat & without looking at the boy, walked quickly through the aisles.

Draco leaned against the wall of the train & stood staring at her until she disappeared.


	2. The Essences of Magic

**Chapter II: The Essences of Magic ****  
><strong>  
>Hermione stroked Crookshanks' cinnamon head thoughtfully. All around, friends were chatting or looking out the windows of the carriage as the Hogwarts castle became increasingly close. Any other year, Hermione had waited anxiously for this but then she was too confused and had a strange feeling that she had not known how to define. She leaned back and closed her eyes, relaxing. She thought that in a couple of hours she would be comfortably sleeping on the scarlet canopy bed in her room, but that would be after the selection. She wondered if any of the first-year students who she had found that day in the compartments would go to Gryffindor and suddenly, infiltrating her thoughts in a flash, she saw Draco Malfoy's image in her mind. She closed her eyes even more tightly, trying to dilute his image, but it was there again and again without any reason. Hermione rubbed her forehead and decided to pay attention to the conversation of his friends for distraction.<p>

"Come on Harry, you know how Malfoy is … you shouldn't let that affect you as well."Said Ginny's calm voice.

"For you it's easy to say." he growled.

"This time he has gone too far." interjected Ron laying his hand on Harry's shoulder to instill courage.

"I hate him." Harry spat.

For some reason, Hermione felt a strange weight in her stomach. But the words of her friend were around her mind a long time. She did not open her mouth until they arrived at Hogwarts, immersed in thought, but once she sat at the Gryffindor table and as the sorting hat ceremony started, she forgot everything. This would be the last year that she could enjoy the beginning of the year banquet and ceremony, for it was the year they ended their studies at Hogwarts. Hermione felt a little anxiety in the base of her stomach, thinking about the people she would miss to see. She knew she would not lose contact with Harry and Ron, but ... unconsciously her eyes roamed the Slytherin table until he found Malfoy watching the ceremony. Pansy was at his side, watching him with rapt attention, ignoring the Sorting Hat and students that were sorted into her house. Hermione would miss Malfoy? Of course not...

The classes had started the day after the ceremony, as always. That was Hermione's last year at school, & at the end of the course they would have to take their N.E.. The results would surely affect their future, once they completed their studies. Hermione still wasn't sure about what she was going to do when she finished her studies at Hogwarts. So she had the intentions of passing all her N.E. so she wouldn't have to rule out an option. She began developing schedules for Harry, Ron, Neville and anyone who would accept. Since the first week of school, she spent several hours in the library practicing spells & reviewing everything they had learned in previous years, because the tests included everything, not just what they'll learn in seventh year.

One afternoon while studying in the library, Hermione saw Malfoy entering, looking bored. She watched as the boy walked among the tables remembering the sparks she had felt when they collided in the platform. Hermione had thought several times about finding information on what it could mean, but she was not sure it came in a book from the library. As if sensing that Hermione was thinking about him, Malfoy turned his gray eyes toward her & held a mischievous grin. As he approached her, she noticed that he had grown slightly from the previous year & his body was more athletic & less childish. His face was still pale & somewhat large, but judging by the success he had, the girls found him attractive. Hermione shrugged mentally, thinking that the only thing she found interesting about him was his eyes, but they were so cold that they lost their charm.

"Studying for your N.E.W.T.s already, Granger?" He asked, slurring his words as usual. "It's normal for you to start at this point; you need to study hard, considering you have no magical talent."

Hermione merely ignored him. No matter how handsome the girls might find him, it was no doubt he was a fool.

"Or you are preparing to be Pince's successor?"He continued. "You spend more time in here than she does, but personally, I think you would look better occupying Filch's post. If a squib can do that, a mudblood can too."

Hermione looked at him with narrowed eyes. She knew the best she could do was ignore him & his comments. Everytime that Ron & Harry tried to attack Malfoy for her, she told them not to give him importance, inside it hurt more than she was willing to recognize. After enduring six years of being treated as inferior & unworthy by Malfoy, she had not cured for it yet. Given that she had lost all concentration and desire to study, she closed her book & stood up. Hermione passed Malfoy without a look at him, but the moment their shoulders touched, she felt the same feeling of electricity at platform 9 & ¾ but much milder. Also, she didn't know if Draco felt it too. But she departed quickly from the library as to be farther from him.

Hermione opened the Prophet & began to read it, trying not to see Ron & Lavender locked in a silent struggle with a single muscle of their bodies, their lips. They had apparently taken up the relationship they had last year (if that was what it was) & returned to becoming Siamese twins joined at the mouth. Not that Hermione cared, but it was irritating to watch them being locked in their nonverbal dialogues. Mostly because everytime Ron, Harry & Hermione tried to hold a conversation, Lavender appeared claiming "Won Won" & Ron forgot about the others. Harry meanwhile, kept going out with Ginny. They had begun dating the previous year & as Harry spent most of the summer at the Burrow, now that they had returned to Hogwarts they looked like a marriage. They spent the whole day together, & Hermione could talk with them without feeling uncomfortable because they didn't spend their whole time together kissing like Ron & Lavender did. At least she could talk to someone.

Hermione was happy for her friends, but at times she felt a little lonely. Sometimes she didn't go to the library because she wanted to study, but because her friends were with their girlfriends. She felt a bit left out & she took refuge in her books to kill time. She sometimes helped Neville with any spells he had problems with, or walking with Luna Lovegood at Hogwarts' grounds. The two girls felt quite alone, but they had started to become very good friends. They were quite the opposite, Hermione being the voice of reason & Luna being completely crazy. But thanks to their friendship, the Ravenclaw seemed more balanced & the Gryffindor less severe.

She used to sit in the common room with Parvati, who also felt abandoned by Lavender everytime she saw Ron, but there were certain issues they could not speak of, & divination was one of them. Parvati worshipped Professor Trelawney, & Hermione felt that she was a fraud, so more than once they ended up arguing.

"Is there anything interesting in there?" Parvati asked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. Hermione looked up from the Prophet to find her companion looking through the _Witch's Heart_ & looking bored.

"Well, there's an article about Gringotts & they say a giant has been sighted near the Baltic Sea." she said. "Are you finding anything interesting in your journal?"

"It comes with a gift." She told Hermione, showing a rectangular pack of metallic green gum. "It's a love potion. The person you give it to will fall in love with you until the flavor lasts."

"That's stupid." Hermione said with disdain, but Parvati laughed.

"Who would you give it to?" she asked with interest. Parvati was always trying to get out of Hermione who she liked. Hermione raised an eyebrow, about to blame her for something. But then, something caught her attention in Parvati's journal. It seemed to her as if she had read the word "spark".

"Would you let me see it for a moment?" she asked Parvati & she nodded with a mischievous smile on her face, as if though Hermione was interested in the _Fifteen tips to make your wizard fall in love_. Under the fifteen tips, she saw with bright colored letters a section called _Signs that you have him in the pot._

_"You know your dreams have come true if..._

_-You keep staring at him & he cannot take his eyes of off you, he's yours!_

_-When you go near him, his friends are elbowing him, he has fallen!"_

The article continued with a series of symptoms equally stupid, but the last one was covered with hearts that exploded & repaired themselves instantly after a few seconds.

_"And finally and most importantly..._

_If everytime you touch him in any way, you feel a spark, that guy is in your pot & he has no intention of leaving! When sparks fly, it means your magic essences have recognized each other & they're telling you. This guy is definitely the right wizard. Your soul mate!"_

Hermione reread the last section a few times, feeling that her heart had accelerated, but then she returned the magazine to Parvati with a dismissive snort. What that magazine said was stupid nonsense that unfortunately, most of the girls believed in. The evidence was clear: Malfoy & she were opposites, not soul mates. They had nothing in common and to top it off, Malfoy hated her and she was not particularly crazy about him.

But then, what had those sparks meant? The ones she had already felt twice? She calmed herself, & thought that it could have been unlikely if Malfoy had felt the sparks too. The sparks probably meant they repelled each other, nothing more.

To reassure this, she decided she would go to the library as soon as she had a free time & seek for a reliable book that could tell her what those sparks meant. So after Charms, she said goodbye to Harry & Ron & went to the library. She took a few books in which she believed she could find something, but after reviewing them for the past couple of hours, there was not even a mention about sparks. She rested her elbows on the table feeling stressed.

"Hermione?" She opened her eyes to find herself facing a guy with that Ravenclaw she had Charms, Transfiguration & Magic Runes with.

"Hello ... Benjamin, right?"

"Yes." he said with a beaming smile, as if he was so happy she knew his name. "Well, I hope I'm not bothering you."

"No, you do not bother me." She interrupted. She was thankful for the distraction so she pointed the chair beside her. Benjamin obeyed, still smiling and Hermione thought he had a beautiful smile.

"I wanted to ask you a favor." he said a little embarrassed "Well, I've seen you in Runes, Transformation & also Charms & I know you're the best in the class." Hermione blushed slightly but did not say anything. "And the truth is that between classes and Quidditch practice I don't have much time. This year I was assigned to be Ravenclaw's captain." He said and looked closely at her expression, as if trying to guess whether he had surprised her. "There are spells & incantations & all types of transformations that I do not master very well, & I was wondering if you... well, if you could help…"

"I'd love to help you." Hermione said, grateful for having a distraction from her foolish quest. Benjamin smiled & she didn't think of Malfoy, or sparks.

_A/N_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, I know it's not that interesting…YET. The next chapter will be better. I hope I can have Chapter 3 for tomorrow. Thanks for reading my story! I appreciate it!_

-Mischief Managed


	3. Stupid Dewey!

**Chapter III: Stupid Dewey!**

Draco read another page of the book he held wearily. Pansy was sitting in a green chair right in front of the boy & looked at him longingly. There were logs crackling in the fireplace, though it was a Saturday morning in the Slytherin common room that was never too bright.

Slowly and without stopping to look at the boy, Pansy got up from the chair, slid gently swaying her hips, walking on a dark carpet towards the boy. Draco just looked at her dispassionately before returning his eyes to the book. Sighing loudly, Pansy sat in the armrest of his chair & leaned against the back, close to Draco. The Slytherin read another page while she started kissing his neck slightly, determined to get his attention.

For about a minute, Draco did not move or show any reaction to the kisses, though he passed each page with violence. After a moment, he got tired of her and sat up suddenly, making Pansy hit the ground.

"Not now." he said dryly "I'm trying to concentrate."

Seeing the tears that came to the eyes of the girl, Draco pursed his lips with a look of disgust and left the Common Room without devoting any more thought. He walked through the cold and deserted corridors of the dungeons and decided to go to the library so he could read in peace ... well, that was if none of the girls approached him with silly grins on their faces. He raised his face, congratulating himself for being so handsome, though talking honestly to himself, he wasn't in the mood for his usual fans but he didn't know why. Unconsciously, he thought it was likely to find Granger there; she was a bookworm after all.

He smiled maliciously. To bother her a bit, would surely put him in a better mood.

He was a little happier when he came through the library's door. Some girls sitting around the tables lifted their eyes from the books & whispered excitedly to each other. He definitely felt better.

He glanced at the library looking for a table to allow him some quiet and then he saw Hermione, sitting on a table in front of an open book, with the end of a pen between her lips. Draco observed her a moment plotting how to bother her, when he saw a boy his age, with dark green eyes coming to the table. Draco looked at him closely & saw the Ravenclaw crest on his robe. The boy said something but Draco couldn't quite make out what it was.

He felt an uncontrollable fit of rage spread through his body when he saw the boy put his hand on Hermione's table and leaned over to whisper something near her ear. She smiled softly and a little blush rose to her cheeks. Then he pointed to a shelf and said a few words. The Ravenclaw smiled stupidly and ran a hand through his brown hair before leaving the table with his back turned the other way, not taking his eyes off the girl. Malfoy almost vomited when she saw him bump against a chair and heard Hermione giggling. Furious, he grabbed a third-year girl by the robe & turning to her abruptly, he asked: "Who is that?" Draco said, pointing to the Ravenclaw.

"Dewey, Ben Dewey." The frightened girl said with a shrug. "He's captain of the Ravenclaw's Quidditch team & he's a prefect."

Malfoy let go of her suddenly, not taking his eyes from Dewey while the girl ran from the library. So Dewey, he thought, just remembering why he was so familiar. For several years, they had shared Herbology, but he no longer had that subject & he almost forgot he had. Draco had seen him play Quidditch a few times & apparently, he was popular among the girls, of course not as much as him. He watched Dewey for a moment and thought that this guy was not worthy of being his rival, he was nobody.

Again, he set his eyes on Granger, who was focused in reading a book. Apparently, she had not noticed his presence. Draco furrowed his brow slightly annoyed and looked for a table near the girl, in which he hoped he could put the book he had been trying to read in the common room. A couple of girls pushed aside their notes and quills to make room for him, but Malfoy ignored them & stood in a table just behind Hermione. He sat down and waited a few minutes, giving Hermione her last minutes of tranquil. When he saw the girl getting distracted from the book, he quickly followed her & placed himself on the other side of the shelf she was looking at, without being seen. He followed her path from the other side of the shelf, watching the girl's concentrated expression while searching for her book, ignoring that she was being observed by him. At last she stopped in front of some books & seemed to find what she wanted, but Malfoy was ready. When the girl took the end of the book, Malfoy was already pulling it off the shelf, to get it before her. Hermione looked surprised for a moment, and then struggled with him, an expression of annoyance on her face.

"Let go, Malfoy," she demanded irritably while pulling the book.

"No way, I picked up this book first, find another." he said feeling much better by teasing Granger.

"There isn't another one!" She said shrilly "Besides, I don't know why you want it, you don't even study Arithmancy."

"I don't have to give you an explanation, mudblood." He replied contemptuously, "I saw it first, so drop the book and get out of here.

"You're so ... " Hermione growled, unable to find a bad enough word to describe him. At the end, she sighed in exasperation & suddenly released the book, which unbalanced Malfoy for a moment. He looked furious as she walked away toward her table, but soon smiled triumphantly. He loved teasing her, even more than getting candy from the first-years.

With the book in his hands, he strutted in front of Hermione's table who wrote furiously on her parchment prepared to ignore his presence. Draco was going to read a page of the book aloud when Dewey was again approaching the girl's table with a stack of books in his hands. They landed noisily on the surface and Hermione looked up annoyed thinking it was Malfoy, but she smiled sweetly when she saw the Ravenclaw.

"Is something wrong, Ben?" She asked politely pushing her pen aside. Malfoy angrily discovered that she was nervous.

"Well, Hermione ..." Began the boy, scratching his neck a little embarrassed. "I have some problems with Transformations ... I have consulted a thousand books but I cannot quite make the Mutator Spell work ..."

"Oh, it's somewhat complicated but I learned to do it a couple of weeks ago, if you want to I can help you ..."

"Yes!" the boy cried excitedly, Hermione blushed a little & the Ravenclaw was as red as a tomato. "I mean I would appreciate it very much.

Hermione smiled softly and then she saw Draco watching them.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she asked cheerfully. Draco held the book in his hands so hard his knuckles whitened and his snake-shaped ring was embedded in his skin, and without a word he stood over & walked out. But not before he hit the Ravenclaw with his body.

"What has happened with him?" he heard Dewey say.

Draco violently threw the book at his desk and sat down with rage. That stupid Dewey & that mudblood had completely ruined his day, He rubbed his temples trying to calm down, he didn't know why that stupid had the capacity to infuriate him like this. His father had always taught him that feelings were weakness, and that mudblood managed to fool him everytime he saw her. What did it matter to him that Dewey would behave like a fool who'd just fallen in love with Granger? Just like that idiot Ernie McMillan & the Weasley had centuries drooling over her.

He looked at her a moment. She had her head really close to Dewey's, whispering and making movements with her wand while Draco thought she had nothing special. She was not even pretty... Well, maybe a little, but so what? She was still a mudblood; she had no magic ancestor, like dozens more who were at Hogwarts. Maybe Hermione was the best of their year, but that was because she spent hours in the library studying nonstop, while he, Draco Malfoy, needed half her effort to overcome her. And yet this guy Dewey seemed to be crazy about her...

He sighed; exasperated to see how the Ravenclaw approached her everytime he could & asked several times for the same thing. Draco was sure Dewey could do that spell but it served as a pretext to get closer to Hermione.

Unable to stand the little scene, he picked up his book and took off in the library with his head held high. Hermione watched him until he disappeared through the door, then turned to Dewey and continued explaining the Mutator Spell.

Draco adjusted his gloves with a serious and concentrated expression. After surrounding his broomstick with a gloved hand, he gestured the rest of his team to follow him outside the locker room. It was his first game as Slytherin captain, but he was not nervous. Slytherin would face Ravenclaw & Cho Chang, he knew, had finished her studies at Hogwarts. Malfoy knew that Ravenclaw's new search for a Seeker had no chance against him. The rest of the team was pretty mediocre and Captain Dewey was a complete waste. Malfoy clenched his teeth to remind his goofy expression whenever he was nearby Granger. From the day that he found them in the library, Malfoy noticed that the Ravenclaw happened "by chance" in front of her almost every day, when before that year, Dewey was never seen in the library. Draco doubted he was capable of reading and knew that the reason he went to the library was to see if the Smarty mudblood was there. He had also been waiting at the dungeon's door when they Potions, addressing Hermione to exit with any excuse, almost always associated with some spell trouble he had.

Draco did not understand how Dewey could use this technique to lure the mudblood in, which made him look pretty stupid, but on the other hand, he was. And Granger spent hours with him in the library trying to teach him various spells.

"Dewey, you know your time at Hogwarts has been a waste when you're taking classes from a mudblood." Malfoy snapped one of the times he found them in the library, their heads close together & moving their wands in the air.

Dewey had watched him with anger as he stood up abruptly and he pointed his wand. Draco's wand was already up, ready to throw a curse, but Granger quickly hung over Dewey's arm in order to stop him & asked him to ignore Malfoy. Dewey had taken a few seconds to react, but when he looked at the Gryffindor he smiled they both ignored the Slytherin.

Draco had been furious and from that day on he did not stop prodding the Ravenclaw every time he saw him, mocking his low intelligence and stupidity asking if it had to do with being hit by a bludger or if he had been born that way. Dewey raged and swelled like a puffer fish to each comment, and though he seemed about to hit a punch or throw a spell at the last second he always chose to ignore Draco making him further enraged. He suspected that his behavior was due to the mudblood's petition to ignore him & not give importance to his provocations & Draco's blood boiled everytime he saw either of them.

"Malfoy, what's happening to you?" Zabini's voice recalled him back to the present.  
>Draco watched his companion while Zabini looked at him shrewdly through slanted eyes. He wore a green Slytherin robe and he held a broom in his right hand. He entered this year's Quidditch team as a Keeper and Crabbe and Goyle were the new Beaters. Draco acknowledged that they were not very fit for Quidditch but they were useful because of their size &amp; their capacity to play dirty.<p>

"Nothing." Draco replied briefly, leading his team into the tunnel. When they finally reached the mouth that led to the Quidditch field, he felt the tingle of excitement he experienced in every game with a stinging sensation that gave it a bitter taste in his mouth. Revenge.

He looked at the exalted audience that packed the stadium and his eyes wandered between dressed in blue spots in search of something unconsciously. Found in the front row, a figure out of tune with the crowd. There was a girl who wore nothing blue, just her black cape and tousled brown hair loose. Beside her was the crazy blonde girl, Luna Lovegood.

Draco's face hardened. Granger had never attended any Slytherin match when they faced Gryffindor. He knew instantly that Smarty had gone to the stadium only to see Dewey and his thirst for revenge grew so that when turned to face his teammates, he could only distinguish green spots through the red mist that obscured his eyes.

"Let's beat them." He snapped and without another word, jumped on his broom and flew like an arrow towards the center of the field, where the Ravenclaw team huddled around their captain.

Dewey greeted Draco with a curt gesture of his head, Draco did not respond but he saw no reason to do so. The Ravenclaw had his eyes on the stands. Malfoy knew he was looking for Granger and his blood began to boil. The arrival of Ms. Hooch calmed down his desires to pounce on Ravenclaw's keeper. When she told them the captains of both teams to hold hands as required by protocol, both did with stiffness and tightened each other's hand as much as they could, though their faces remained expressionless except for a slight sneer in Slytherin's lips. After the whistle blew, Draco could not resist the temptation to beat Dewey past him with the broom.

Then he rose a little higher, looking for the Snitch & took a couple of laps on the field looking for it, but soon divided his attention between the golden ball and Dewey who had stopped several goals of Zabini and Valey. Slytherin was losing by ten points and Crabbe and Goyle were limited to flying like two gorillas lost looking for the bludgers. When his gaze met Dewey's, he smiled and with mocking air, making Draco lose any hint of control. Crabbe approached and Malfoy screamed at full blast to pitch all the bludgers toward Dewey, or at least hitting him with the bat.

"Malfoy!" Zabini shouted, interrupting his orders to Crabbe "Get the Snitch!"

It took Draco a few seconds to absorb Zabini's words & then he followed the direction of his gaze, & saw Boot, the Ravenclaw seeker, going down sharply after a flash of gold.

He quickly adjusted his gloved hands to handle the broom and ran after the blue stain that was Terry Boot with the nerves in the throat and mentally scolding himself for his stupidity. But both of the Seekers had been distracted because of Dewey, so Boot would not be ahead of him. He thought it was too late when he saw Boot's arm extended to catch the snitch, but when he was about to close his hand around it, Draco caught him and kneed him so hard that Terry deviated from the path of the snitch. Before anyone could realize what had happened exactly, Draco caught the snitch and stopped short with the upper hand, with fingers holding he frantic scurrying golden wings of the snitch. Immediately the stadium began to roar around, some cheering and others jeering, but Draco did not pay much attention. He looked for the Gryffindor feeling pleased with himself for having defeated the team of her "friend" but she was not looking, but her eyes were wide open and fixed on something beyond him horrified. Draco turned and saw Dewey slumped on his broom with arms and legs dangling. Later, Crabbe explained proudly how he had used the distraction to launch a bludger that hit him squarely in one ear and made him lose consciousness.

"What happened to you up there?" Zabini yelled when they all fell to the floor of the Quidditch field, invaded by jubilant Slytherins. "What were you thinking? We had been on the verge of losing & it's your entire fault!"

Zabini, instead of being happy for the victory, seemed resentful and angry with Draco for what had happened. Slanted eyes watched him with confidence and he lifted his face with arrogance, as was his custom. Zabini enraged Draco because he dared to treat him that way, as if he were the captain.

"Shut up."Draco snapped. Then he told Zabini menacingly "And remember that just as I got you into the team, I have the power to get you out." And after saying that, he walked away, ignoring the Slytherins & Pansy who held out her hand for Draco to hold, but he was too furious to pay attention to her.

He broke through sharply between some of his companions while tightening the Snitch in his hand, feeling that his sense of victory and joy had been tarnished by Zabini. Only when he saw that they took the unconscious Dewey on a stretcher, he rejoiced a little and showed the face that usually used to wear in place of a smile. His grin widened as he saw Granger following the stretcher with his eyes, her face full of concern.

"Poor Granger." He said, faking a concerned tone. "Do you think that he would turn more stupid after that? I know it's difficult because he's pretty stupid now, but there's a possibility."

Hermione seemed determined to follow the same policy as Dewey, so she didn't reply and hurried away from him, but Draco still had not finished with her so he followed.

"You have very bad taste, Granger." he insisted. "At first I thought you liked the poor ones, like Weasley, but Dewey is almost worse. Unattractive, unintelligent and untalented for Quidditch ... oh, and probably without an ear after that."

That comment got the Gryffindor to stand on dry and walk very slowly back towards him. When she did, Draco saw that she was flushed with anger and that she clenched fists.

"The only moron around here is you, Malfoy." She snapped, blushing even more. "Think you're pretty good, right? I've heard Zabini. Your own teammates questioning you and you just can silence them under threats, worthy of you, Malfoy, it shows your respect." she said wryly. "And let me tell you that your life must be very sad for you to enjoy watching Dewey on a stretcher." Hermione looked at him coldly and harshly repeated before going "Very sad." and then walked away with her head held high towards Hogwarts.

Draco was still raging long after the Gryffindor had gone, leaving him standing in the middle of the stadium. He went straight to the dungeons before everyone would mount the party to celebrate the victory, because he was in no mood to celebrate. He passed through the empty common room quickly and closed the door of his room in a violent slam. He threw his broom with violence. Only then did he realize that he had brought the Snitch, hidden in his tight fist. The Malfoy threw it hard against the wall but it had unfurled its wings and fluttering, it had made it to the ceiling of the room like a large mosquito. Draco ran his hands through his hair which was tousled by the wind messing it up even more, feeling an uncontrollable rage that he did not know how to vent. He recalled another time the mudblood's words. Granger had called him stupid and had also told him that his friends did not respect him & that they didn't believe in him either. That the only way he could shut them was under threat.

Instead she was perfect, he thought angrily, and had some friends who always supported her. She didn't even have an idea what it was to be him, & what it entailed. She didn't know what he went through. The mudblood's worries only concerned her studies and being the top of the class. Hermione was St. Potter's & Weasley's friend. They defended her like lions everytime someone messed with her, & everyone on Gryffindor appreciated her sincerely. She was every teacher's favorite student. And last but not least, a pure blood was following her around like a lost puppy.

And she was not even pretty, nor particularly smart. All her success was due to the hours she spent in front of a book like bookworm, she was flattering to the teachers. She always had to answer and know everything. She had always met standards. She always had to do what everyone considered fair or correct. She was a boring nerd, no life beyond the books.

"Your life must be very sad for you to enjoy watching Dewey on a stretcher." She had told him. Well, Draco would make sure that hers was a living hell.


	4. Under the mistletoe

**Chapter****IV****: Under****the****mistletoe**

Although Zabini was haughtier with Draco than normal, he was careful not to criticize him for anything again. Crabbe and Goyle went through the halls representing the scene in which the first hit Benjamin Dewey with a bludger every time one of the Ravenclaws were close, but Draco was no longer amused. During Potions class, Draco got up on the pretext of looking for doxy powders because his were gone and on the move he got close to the side of Hermione's cauldron, & secretly threw a small pot of bubotuber pus that completely ruined her potion. It began to smoke in her pot with a foul smell & it became an unattractive khaki tone. Draco & Zabini openly laughed when Slughorn was very disappointed with the girl for not being able to make the potion and proposed Hermione his help during breaks if she wanted to pass her N.E.W.T.s. Even though Harry and Ron tried to explain to Slughorn why Hermione's potion had turned into a smelly mass, when they left the dungeon, Malfoy noted with satisfaction that the girl had tears in her eyes.

When he later went to the library accompanied by Pansy (which had invited herself to accompany him), Draco saw Hermione with Dewey on the same table as always. He laughed cruelly to see that the girl had to repeat each word five times so Dewey could understand, since it appeared that after the Bludger had hit him, he just listened with his left ear. Pansy pointed at them giggling as she sat next to Draco at a table near where the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw were. Dewey had not heard their laughter, but Hermione looked at both disdainfully before returning her attention to the Ravenclaw.

"I don't know why Dewey is interested in her." said Pansy evilly. "It is pathetic that a pure-blood wizard as he is is interested in the most ordinary girl from school."

Draco remained silent, not knowing if Pansy's words made him feel understood or offended. Being a little puzzled he realized that irritated him, although he claimed to prefer to mess with Granger himself.

"Well, Dewey is not a big deal ... "He said with contempt. Pansy stared at him for a few seconds as if he had said something inappropriate for him, but then she smiled and looked at him with shining eyes.

"I know," she said looking at him tenderly. "I wasn't trying to say that Dewey had something special, in fact, he's not even good-looking. I do not find him attractive, and it shows he doesn't have enough brains to pass without the mudblood's help." she said with contempt and Draco knew that Pansy had thought he had said that because he was jealous of the comment she had done about Dewey. He decided not to say anything about her error & he shrugged indifferently, again setting his eyes on the Gryffindor.

"And she certainly is the most insignificant thing Hogwarts has. Adding it to being a mudblood, she is also very unattractive & dirty ... she notices it herself, one only has to look at her hair to know that..." Draco watched Hermione's tousled hair falling to the middle of her back. It was brown but the light coming through the windows of the library gave it a golden glow. Malfoy thought there was nothing wrong in her hair and her face. "... With those teeth that came to her chin and her huge mouth." Pansy continued. Draco set his eyes on the girl's mouth, her teeth that for years had been too long for her mouth, no longer protruded from her lips which she moved sharply hoping Dewey understood what she was saying. The lower lip was a little thicker than the top and when he smiled at Dewey, Draco found she had a beautiful smile. Draco wondered if he had ever seen her smile before, probably yes, but he could not remember that he had ever liked her smile.

"...Too long. Draco? Draco, are you listening?"

Pansy's voice irritated him out of his thoughts and jerked from the Gryffindor to look at his companion. Pansy watched him a little offended and suspicious unusual in her.

"What were you thinking? Were you looking at her?" she asked accusingly.

"Who? The mudblood?" He replied with disgust. "Only someone who received several blows to the head with bludgers could find her interesting. She only disgusts me." When he saw that Dewey stroked the girl's cheek, he stood up abruptly closing his book "In fact I find so pathetic and a disgusting spectacle." he said loudly and making sure that Hermione & perhaps Dewey could hear him perfectly. "I'm going hoping not to vomit."

Even Hermione gave him an expressionless look, but Pansy seemed very satisfied when she followed Malfoy out of the library.

"Guys, I'll come back in a while." She said while posing her pen with which she had been writing her translation of magic runes and rising from her chair where she sat with her friends in the Gryffindor common room.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked with suspicion. "Are you going to see the dumb guy again?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron had started to call Benjamin "the dumb guy" for the hours she spent helping him in spells and transformations.

"No, and do not call him like that again." she said closing the bottle of ink with a distracted air.

"So where are you going? You spend many hours with the dumb guy that we barely see a tip of your hair." Ron continued with the same tone. Harry looked very focused in his Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

"Do not talk nonsense," Hermione said. Ron made her tired; they had had this conversation a million times. "I just help him a couple of evenings a week, the rest of time I spend it with you so I do not think that what you say is true."

"What if Harry or I need you to help us?" Ron countered, unwilling to accept the arguments of his friend.

"I think the two you can live without me a couple of hours a week." she started saying. "Besides, I never complain when you two spend hours at Quidditch practice or talking about them.

"That's different," Ron looked very angry.

"And what about Ginny or Lavender? I never tell you anything when you spend whole evenings with them." Hermione said looking at Ron with narrowed eyes. "So I can spend my free time how and with whom I want."

And with that she left the Gryffindor common room, with dignity. Ron was the most unbearable lately with everything having to do with Ben and last but not least, Malfoy would not let her alone. From the day of the Quidditch match he had done everything that could upset her, insulted every time they passed through the halls or in the dining room and spent the classes Defense Against the Dark Arts messing with her in a low voice and causing Pansy stupid giggles, Snape without saying anything.

Malfoy had always hated her, but this year he seemed to surpass his own limits. Every time he saw her & Hermione didn't do or say anything, not even look at him, which seemed to further increase his hatred for her. He spent at least one afternoon a week in the library to mess with Dewey& her and even seemed to have lost interest in getting to Harry. Most of his cruel jokes were for her and a few for Ron, but Harry seemed to have lost any meaning for him. In fact, it seemed that his greatest enemy was Dewey. She knew that Draco hated her for being a mudblood, because he considered her inferior, but Dewey belonged to a famous family of pure-blood and the Ravenclaws and Slytherins were not particularly enemies. He had no reason to mess with Dewey much beyond the fact that he was her friend. But this reason seemed a little shaky and lame. It just didn't make sense.

When she turned a corner towards the dungeon, which Hermione was directed to talk to Slughorn about the potion Malfoy had ruined, she found him leaning against a wall with Pansy very close to his face. Hermione could not have been absolutely sure, but she had the impression that Malfoy had seen her from the corner of his eye before putting his ear to whisper something to his roommate that provoked in Pansy a nervous and unbearable giggle.

"What are you doing here Know-it-All?" Pansy asked, turning to her, linking her arm through Draco with a look of pride. "Did you come crying to Slughorn because you ruined your potion?"

Draco watched as the girl looked at them distantly and without giving them greater importance. He pursed his lips, annoyed, and passed a hand over her waist to get Pansy closer to him and looked at Hermione waiting for a reaction. She stared at him, her face completely blank.

"At least I have enough talent to take potions, Parkinson." Hermione said with dignity. Draco had to suppress his laughter at seeing the look on Pansy's face, for the previous year she had been very upset by not being able to study potions like him.

"You got talent?" the Slytherin replied looking like a filthy cockroach "you're only a bookworm with no charm.

Hermione gave a mixture of laughter and a contemptuous snort.

"My time is too important to waste it with you, Parkinson." and then she lifted her head far away from them, with dignity. But Draco did not miss the detail that she had her fists clenched tight.

Christmas was approaching and with them, snow in early December that covered all school grounds and froze the lake surface. The castle was wearing its traditional Christmas decorations and the halls here and there hung bunches of mistletoe. At the entrance to the library leaves of mistletoe were particularly visible, although Mrs. Pince noticed that with displeasure from her table.

Students secretly flew around the bunches of mistletoe waiting for the person they loved to pass under them, to approach and ask casually if they realized where they were, but Hermione was oblivious to all that. She was too hysterical by the proximity of Christmas, because that meant that every time they were closer to the N.E.W.T.s. She spent most of her hours in the library, either helping Ben, or her friends, or simply just studying alone.

Draco went to the library from time to time but she was not sure why. It had simply become a kind of ritual; he passed by a couple of times a week to mess with Granger. As the days passed, she could no longer ignore him. She replied harshly to the Slytherin's insults and when she was with friends or with Benjamin, she did her usual attempts to calm things down, just stayed on the sidelines, because she was already tired of it. Draco enjoyed teasing her and watching her explode, but the truth (and most disturbing) was that when he tried to realize why, he discovered that he used to go to her when he knew she would be with Dewey. Draco sat on a table from where he could see them and watch them stealthily without considering the reason. He just couldn't read a word knowing she was a few tables beyond, flirting with that stupid Ravenclaw. Since the establishment of the new Christmas decorations, Malfoy had seen in more than one occasion as Dewey passed under the mistletoe with Hermione, and he looked desperate, but finally he did not dare say anything, because the girl was too immersed in reviewing the lessons, or even to realize. Malfoy had laughed to himself and had imitated the scene to Pansy until she started to look at him in a way that he did not like.

But there he was again, watching the fool and the mudblood. He realized that day, Dewey seemed to have been taken time to get ready in the morning. He wore a spotless robe and he had combed his hair decently which made his hair darker and glistening. Draco had the feeling that that day he would dare to kiss Hermione. And with a mixture of derision and something he could not identify, he was at a table where he had a good view out of the library.

Hermione walked immersed in her book, & Dewey was watching her. She looked distracted and she was muttering under her breath, so Draco had the impression that she was speaking to herself and not to the Ravenclaw.

"Hermione." Dewey muttered weakly. She stopped right under the mistletoe and looked at him after she had finished reading the paragraph.

"Yes?" she asked, failing to see that Dewey did not seem willing to say anything despite him calling her.

"Well ... I ... you ..."the boy began but hesitated, twisting one of the sleeves of his robe "Well ... you ... have you seen where we are?"

Hermione looked at him as if she was seriously concerned about his mental health, but then she looked in the same direction as Dewey's nervous eyes and saw the mistletoe hanging over their heads. Even from his position, Draco could see her blushing deeply. Dewey interpreted the gesture as a silent nod, and slowly, nervously he leaned towards her, who stood still watching him with wide eyes. Draco felt his guts twisting when he saw Dewey as he placed his mouth over the Gryffindor's and unconsciously ripped a page from his book of potions. Draco was forced to focus his eyes on something else instead of in the scene that was in front of him. He had a very unpleasant sensation and could not give it a name because he had never felt anything like that. It was disgusting, not envy. ... It was more profound and disturbing. When he finally looked at them again, he saw how Dewey ran away & Hermione was just frozen under the door frame. Draco picked up his book, closing it abruptly and rose from the table determined to get out of the library. When he approached the Gryffindor he thought of something hurtful to say but his mind seemed to have been strangely devoid of any word, it had only one image set: Dewey & Granger kissing. He shook his head violently and then he saw Hermione, who was watching him and looked very puzzled. Unable to speak, he passed her, pushing her body and then went away at full speed.

When there was a week left for the Christmas holidays, Hermione decided that this year she would go home, but what she had originally planned was to stay at Hogwarts because that would be her last year there. But the picture that presented itself was not very flattering. Ron spoke to her just after he heard what Hermione was telling Ginny about what had happened in the library with Dewey.

Dewey on the other hand, after kissing her, he had run out without a word, Hermione had grown tired of waiting in the library without his appearing. And when they met in Charms and Transfiguration, he had passed her, not daring to look. Hermione had tried to talk with him, but whenever she did, Benjamin argued to have something very urgent to do.

Malfoy was already a case apart. Hermione still did not understand why he had looked that way in the library that day and had turned away as if very angry with her. Also he had not reappeared in the library and Hermione had the strange feeling that he avoided her .When she saw him in class, he was quiet and off, without his usual insults and snide comments now responsible for Parkinson lavish. And the few occasions when he met her gaze, he seemed to look deeply at her. Hermione did not know how to describe the look, but she knew that nobody had ever looked that way at her before.

_A/N  
>That was all.<em>_I hope you liked it:) What do you think of Dewey?__ Why does he avoid Hermione now?__What happened to Malfoy that he was pissed off so much to see them kiss? Why Pansy looks at him that way he doesn't like? What will happen before the Christmas holidays?__(I'm asking so many questions)_

_Theories are accepted. I think you'll like the next chapter, or so I hope but I cannot publish it until I've had at least 10 reviews. SO PLEASE REVIEW! Pretty pretty please with sugar on top _

_I want to thank __Tiani__ for being my first and only review. C'mon guys, you can do better!_

-Mischief Managed


	5. Mudbloods don't float

**Chapter V: Mudbloods don't float.**

Hermione snorted as she ran down the snowy grounds of Hogwarts to escape the snowballs that had been bewitched by Seamus and Dean following the Christmas tradition of the Weasley twins. The girl had tried to stop them with a Stunning spell, but had only managed to increase their speed even more. She mentally cursed Seamus and Dean, who had bewitched the balls to repel spells and run even faster. Hermione felt the snow crunching under her feet and her face was flushed and drenched in cold sweat while her breath was visible as steam against the frigid air of the final month of fall. Hermione began to feel a twinge in her lungs that kept her from breathing correctly but she did not stop running until she heard familiar giggles.

She looked to the right slowly and found two known Slytherins: Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy. They both smiled derisively at the sight of the Gryffindor escaping a couple of snowballs. Hermione felt extremely ridiculous. Of all the Hogwarts students she could meet, it had to be these two. She squared her shoulders and tried to look at them with all the dignity she could, but Pansy giggled stupidly pointing a finger at her and said: "Watch out, Granger! That snow could mess up your hair!"

Draco at Pansy's side merely made a grimace similar to a smile and he never took his eyes off of Hermione. The mockery she saw in his eyes, enraged Hermione. After spending days looking at her angrily and without addressing a word at her, he was now laughing at her. For a moment she just stared at him, the pale color of his face stood out in sharp contrast with his dark black coat and hat covering his hair, his eyes matched the ice frost layer that had taken over Hogwarts, and Hermione thought Draco looked surprisingly handsome. Trying to erase those thoughts from her head, Hermione's brown eyes now rested on Pansy who still had that stupid smile and that look of superiority on her face.

Hermione felt the anger running through her veins and without being very conscious of what she was doing, she ran to the Slytherin. Pansy scared, took a couple of steps back, fearing that the Gryffindor would attack her and she reached for her wand, but when Pansy pointed her wand at Hermione, she quickly lowered her head a few inches and the snowballs that had chased her before crashed into Pansy's face. She threw a little scream, and the snowballs tried hitting the Slytherin again. Pansy ran away, throwing spells over her shoulder which only made the snowballs accelerate.

Hermione sat up leaning her hands on her knees and gasping for breath between laughs. She looked over at Malfoy and found his pale face with something like a smile. She could not keep resist to smile at him too, and as if suddenly aware of who he was smiling at, Draco became very serious, staring icily at her. Hermione pressed her lips together, feeling offended by his reaction and shaking off the snow that was in her coat. Then she snapped: "Why don't you go chase Parkinson? Save her and you'll have her under your spell."

And grimly, she walked through the snow, leaving Malfoy behind.

"I do not need to save her for Parkinson to fall under my spell, she already has." Malfoy replied arrogantly. Hermione just snorted and walked faster and faster, too furious to see where she went and crushing snow with each stride. Hermione heard footsteps behind her, and turning, saw that it was Malfoy.

"Leave me alone Malfoy, I'm not in the mood to hear your stupid comments." Hermione snapped sharply before turning away again and continuing walking through the snow.

"Well, Mrs. Know-it-All's in a bad mood." said the blond. By the sound of his voice, Hermione knew that he was still following her.

"Your intelligence surprises me Malfoy," she said wryly. "And now do me a favor and stop following me."

She started down the hillside, and she barely knew where she was headed but Hermione sensed that she was increasingly moving away from Hogwarts. Probably the best thing would be to turn around and retrace her own steps, but she was unwilling to come across Malfoy. Maybe if she got away, he would get tired of persecuting her and would leave her in peace.

"Are you going to meet Dewey somewhere?" Malfoy's mocking voice asked from behind.

The girl did not answer and walked another space with long strides.

"If I were you, Granger, I wouldn't give one more step." The Slytherin said stopping.

"Why shouldn't I?" She asked taking a couple of strides energetically just to contradict him.

"Granger..." Malfoy's voice sounded strangled and that made Hermione stop abruptly. She turned slowly to look at him and saw him a few feet away from her with an expression that the girl failed to define.

"What?" She asked, and was surprised to hear that her voice sounded shrill, panicked.

"Do not move." he suddenly snapped. Hermione frowned beginning to realize that Malfoy only intended to make fun of her because she did not observe anything near or behind her, but he looked at her straight in the face with an indefinable expression. She clicked her tongue, upset because she was being naïve, and she took a couple of steps back glaring at him until she felt something was breaking under her feet.

Hermione looked down and then realized that she was not stepping on snow, but on ice. She had been too angry to realize that she had drifted into the frozen lake that was now beginning to give way under her weight, as evidenced by the thin cracks that had formed around her feet. She let out a muffled groan without daring to just breathe with fear that if she did too hard, the ice would break and she would just fall into the icy waters of the lake. She looked at Malfoy with eyes full of fear and unable to speak for help. He just watched quite tense and motionless, as if he had become a statue.

"Malfoy..." Hermione hissed, her eyes beginning to moisten and her heart beating painfully in her chest. "Do something ... quick!"

He blinked a few times and he seemed to have awakened from his dream state and the face that he used to do instead of a smile came to the light, although his mouth was more tense than normal.

"Help me." she moaned desperately, and a crunch of ice accompanied her voice.

"Why should I?" Draco asked coldly.

Hermione felt tears stinging her eyes too and could not help it; she blinked allowing them to glide from her eyelashes. She did not want to mourn in front of Malfoy, but she didn't dare to move her hands to wipe her tears. She clenched her fists breathing, feeling as if she was about to suffocate.

"Please ... no ... no, you can't leave me alone." She whispered in panic.

"Oh, really? I don't have to do anything for you, mudblood." he replied, his voice sounded strange. "You are smart aren't you? You deal out of it yourself. If you fall into the icy water, the giant squid might pity you & rescue you, or you may make part of the lake's decoration. Whatever, I don't care." Malfoy said dryly.

Hermione thought he would leave immediately without looking back, letting her know how indifferent she was to him, but Malfoy looked at her a long moment and despite the distance and her nerves, the girl had a queasy feeling of seeing the ice in his iris ... on fire. But the image lasted just a few seconds, because Malfoy turned around with bluntness unusual in him and began to walk slowly as if his legs were very heavy and would sink too deeply into the snow. That particular scene reminded Hermione when two years ago at the Quidditch World Cup when she had seen the Winky running to the forest to escape the Death Eaters. Anyway, that thought quickly faded from her mind when she saw that Malfoy really planned on walking away and leaving her alone ... to her fate.

Desperate, Hermione weighed her options. She couldn't think of any spells that might help, even if she was able to take her wand from the pocket of her winter coat. Staying there forever couldn't help either, since it was obvious Malfoy wasn't going for help. She had only one option: to venture off toward the shore, that seemed far away.

Breathing with difficulty and muttering to herself that she could reach the shore, Hermione stepped forward slowly. When her foot landed on the ice, it seemed that the very air had stopped and the girl did not dare to breathe or even blink. Nothing happened. Wondering if it was possible that her heart came out of her chest, she let out all the air that she had kept in her lungs. A creaking stopped her breath and the area surrounding the foot just cracked and new marks and the one was that had arisen earlier merged forming a complex fissures.

Hermione began to sob heartlessly. If she took another step, it was probable that the ice would break and she would fall into the icy water. She was so scared she did not dare look up from the ground, if she had, Hermione would have seen that Malfoy had stopped on his way to the castle and had come to her with an angry grimace.

Hermione decided to take another step and take a risk again; standing there didn't offer a lot of security. Taking all the strength and bravery she had, she took another step with the same result as the last one: another crash, this time louder, and the surface of the ice close to it even cracked; there were new cracks and enlarging old ones.

The girl's throat made a guttural sound, Hermione felt suffocated and she was not able to fill her lungs to their full potential for fear of breathing too deeply, however she took another step. This time, the crunching sound lasted many seconds, like a shock wave spreading across the ice and cracks multiplied even more, while the liquid ice that lay beneath the frozen surface was beginning to peek through some stretch marks.

"Damn it! Stop moving!" Spat Malfoy's voice. Startled, Hermione looked up, she had forgotten about him. The blond strode toward her with a gesture of profound annoyance, as if he had to do something he hated. Hermione did not know why but knowing that he had not given up filled her of something deeper and stronger than the simple relief, and that made the tears come harder.

"Stop crying or we'll check if mudbloods float." he said with disdain, but Hermione saw an expression in his eyes ... remotely warm?

Soon Hermione's own tears turned Malfoy into a little more than a stain that approached cautiously and she breathed deeply, trying to calm down. Tears ran down her pale cheeks until some of them fell from her chin, a couple of them landed on the ice merging with it, and the floor began to creak again. Hermione only had time to open her lips before the ground at her feet broke and the lake welcomed Hermione with its cold waters. It was only a matter of seconds before her quivering body had sank completely into a water so cold it hurt her skin with its mere touch, numb with cold and preventing her from doing any movement. She could only open her eyes to glimpse the only ray of light that entered the waters otherwise completely dark, while the last the bubbles flowed from her mouth and floated away to the surface.

Her brown eyes took on a vacant expression, she began to fade, and she felt the pain in every pore of her skin until it came to a limit where she couldn't feel anything. Hermione began to lose all sensitivity and the bit of life she still had in her. At the same time she believed her lungs would burst and all would end, she suddenly felt a tug on his scalp and began to perceive everything as her body slid languidly upwards. Moments later, she opened her mouth at full capacity to take a breath and immediately started coughing and trembling, unable to open her eyes.Hermione did not know how, but she was on the surface.

She felt hands grab her shoulders and pull her tightly, pulling her entire body out of the water and placing it on the cracked ice. Hermione tried to shrink and she was hugging herself in an instinctive gesture to keep warm. She clung to the arms that held her and dragged her body on the ice surface for several meters making some deep cracks in its path. Hermione felt completely dizzy, until at last the motion ceased and under herself she felt the soft snow. She shrugged, shivering and coughing while her head was spinning and her whole body ached, but she did not open her eyes until she felt something between her and the sunlight. Then he saw Malfoy, leaning over her with closed lips, eyes wide and icy hair, and the free black cap, falling wildly over his face certainly giving him a wild air. For a moment in bewilderment, Hermione could not recognize him and was afraid of him, but with hearing his voice she had no doubt of who was speaking.

"They definitely do not float." He said wryly.

If she had had more strength at the moment, she would've smiled, but Hermione only managed a little sound that seemed poorly like a chuckle. A violent shaking hit her again and she began coughing preventing her from breathing normally. Malfoy helped her to facilitate the intake of air. Hermione, unable to sustain herself, rested her back against Malfoy's chest while she shook vehemently, and he threw his arms around her almost instinctively. Feeling a slight warmth enveloping her, Hermione closed her eyes and relaxed, staying asleep.

"Hey… Granger, do not fall sleep, no... Mudblo- Hey Granger, tell me something, talk to me… damn... Her-Hermione…"

She regained consciousness a bit to hear her name coming from Malfoy's lips. It was the first time he called her by her name and Hermione gave a slight smile without opening her eyes. Draco chuckled and shifted uneasily, his hands trembling slightly, but not as much as Hermione's body.

"I have to take you with Pomfrey." She heard him whisper. She felt Malfoy's thick coat around her icy body and then she lost consciousness of everything.

Hermione sighed and tried to move but her body felt numb and sore, as if they had beaten every inch of her skin. Even without opening her eyes, she winced in pain testing every part of her body. She had a strange feeling, Hermione could feel the pores of her skin having goose bumps and she was cramped and numb, but pleasant warmth spread through her veins reaching every part of her being. She experienced the burning sensation inside and to be frozen outside.

Hermione shook her face a little and blinked a few times before opening her eyes normally. It took a few seconds to recognize the room, but she had spent many hours there: nursing. Soon a lot of memories crowded in her head, forcing her to close her eyes again. The lake, ice shedding under it, the icy waters ... and Draco Malfoy, helping her.

Could she have dreamed? It seemed impossible that that had happened, but if that was not true, how had Hermione come to the hospital? She tried to take her hand up to her temple, but her arms were completely clubbed and she could barely move her fingers a little. Throwing a little moan, she turned her face sideways examining room.

Hermione noted the stone roof and then the white screen on one side of her bed, but a sudden movement to her left made her look there. Standing with his hands behind his back and staring through the window, was Draco Malfoy. Something in his posture, he gave the impression that he had placed in front of the window a few seconds ago. Hermione watched him for a moment expecting him to say something or at least look back to her, but he seemed oblivious to her presence. She bit her lower lip, feeling it congested and ignoring the pain it caused her, she wondered why Malfoy was there. It was impossible that he was waiting for her to wake up to make sure she was okay, but Hermione found no other explanation. She did not over think the detail that there was no one else, not Harry, Ron, or Mrs. Pomfrey.

Hermione was beginning to think she was lost in an absurd dream, when Malfoy turned to her. His face was an unreadable expression and except for the exaggerated pallor of his skin and the humidity of the coat there was nothing in it that betrayed that he had saved her in the lake. Slowly he took a few steps until he stopped within a meter of Hermione and he didn't look her in the eyes. Draco seemed to find a wooden table much more interesting. In the table, lay a half-empty bottle of a potion. Hermione watched as he slowly opened his lips to say something, and inside she wanted him to call her by her name again. Troubled by her thoughts, she felt a blush spread across her face and she felt grateful that Malfoy wasn't looking. Hermione didn't dare to face him until the blush had disappeared, but he continued to watch something else. He seemed speechless, so Hermione decided to speak first.  
>"Malfoy…" She said without really knowing what she was going to say.<p>

"Miss Granger! I see that you're already awake." Said a woman's voice, and Hermione saw Mrs. Pomfrey approaching her and staring at her with concern. "It is time for you to take the rest of the potion. It will make you feel better." She took the bottle that Malfoy had been watching so intently before and took it to Hermione's lips, which did not have time to take a breath before the nurse had poured the potion into her mouth. She swallowed loudly as Mrs. Pomfrey's tucked her in neatly, pinning her body with blankets. Then he glanced at her. "Can you tell me what were you doing in the lake? How did you happen to step on ice? How did it even occur to you to do such a thing?"

"I.." Hermione thought for a good answer.

"No need to answer me, I have an idea." Hermione watched as the nursed frowned at Malfoy. "You're still here, Mr. Malfoy? I've said several times already that you have nothing to do here. Miss Granger needs to rest and I'm sure you have better stuff to do than watching her sleep.

Draco's entire body seemed tense, as if he was holding himself back. His lips curled into a sneer, and Hermione watched as the boy squeezed the wand in a pocket of his coat. She was torn between two feelings: fear at the thought that Malfoy attacked Madam Pomfrey and a mixture of bewilderment and joy at the words of the nurse, had Malfoy been watching her sleep?

"You have five minutes, Mr. Malfoy. If I see you here again when I get back, I'll kick you out myself." Said Madam Pomfrey sternly, apparently oblivious to the reaction of the boy. And looking at them both suspiciously, she walked down the hospital aisle to her office.

Hermione felt suddenly very nervous to be alone with Malfoy, he had relaxed his body slightly but he still had that sneer and he was staring at the place where the nurse had gone. After a few seconds, Malfoy looked at her face and his eyes like ice reminded Hermione of what had happened in the lake before and felt the urge to thank him for what he had done.

"Malfoy, I ..." she sought the best way to thank him, but she had never imagined she would have to thank a Slytherin for something. "Thanks for what you did before."

He said nothing and looked intently into her eyes, and the girl had the feeling that the cold dark iris was like a shadow that had passed him, then perceived as the guy's look went down her face to stop at... her lips. Hermione felt the nerves extend from her chest to her stomach and her heart started beating faster. Malfoy was still standing, staring without blinking, and she felt she needed to break the tense silence once.

"Why ... why did you?" She asked hesitantly. Malfoy looked up abruptly and looked away. When he returned to watch Hermione's face he had a mask that emanated such coldness and contempt that made something inside the girl deflate like a pricked balloon.

"Do not ask something you'd rather not know, Granger." He said, slurring the words as usual with a scornful tone. "But do not make the mistake of thinking that I care if there's one more or one less mudblood at Hogwarts.

"So why not let me drown in the lake?" She asked in a tone harsher than she pretended it to be.

"In the future, try not to be so stupid if you can help it, Granger ... because next time I'll sit down to watch you sink."

"You did not answer my question." Hermione repeated stubbornly.

"Do not tell anyone what happened, make something up, whatever ... the truth is that I do not care. But say nothing about it or I'll deny it, and no one will believe you." Draco said and he made a grimace that was intended to emulate a cruel smile. "Sleep tight, Granger."

With a final ironic look at the girl, Malfoy turned around and left. Hermione took a deep breath trying to calm down, and at that moment, Madam Pomfrey was approaching her bed.

" Are you okay, Miss Granger?" She asked.

"Yes…" Hermione murmured.

"At last the boy is gone. I hope he did not bother you. I wanted to take him out a couple … or rather a half dozen times, but he refused to move from your side." Madam Pomfrey said placing her hand on Hermione's forehead. "You're recovering your normal temperature, but it's strange that you're still shaking."

Hermione pursed her lips, she wasn't exactly trembling with cold. In that moment, she felt more than ever, that she had no idea who Draco Malfoy was, and for the first time, she wanted to know.  
>-<p>

"But… how?"

"I've already told Ron." Said Hermione wearily. "I went out for a walk on the lake by myself."

"And you came alone to the hospital?" asked Ginny suspiciously.

"Well ... I ... Hagrid!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed and for a few seconds, she opened and closed her mouth without saying anything. "He-he found me on the way to Madam Pomfrey. He brought me."

Hermione watched as Ginny and Harry exchanged glances but refrained from saying anything, Ron instead seemed content with Hermione's explanation.

"Hermione!" Cried a voice from the entrance. The girl gazed toward the door and found Hagrid moving toward her with concern in his face. "How are you? Neville told me that…"

"That I'm feeling good, right?" Hermione interrupted him quickly, the half-giant looked at her confused and she decided to add. "I know you became very worried after you left me here, but I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey says I can go soon."

Hagrid opened his mouth to speak but he seemed so embarrassed he did not know what to say.

"Fortunately, nothing bad happened to me." she continued with an unconvincing smile.

When she was alone again, Hermione wondered why the hell she had lied to her friends, only because Malfoy had asked her.

_A/N _

_Sorry it took me so long to update, but I was on the beach for vacations & with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on theatres, I've been busy. I've been dealing my post-potter depression. And also, it took a little while more for you guys to have over ten reviews, it had me down a bit. In my opinion, the movie was bloody brilliant, I loved it! What did you think of it? Tom Felton was hot, DEFINITELY & the Voldemort-Draco hug was definitely awkward but it made me laugh & I cried a lot. So back to the story. Why do you think Draco saved Hermione? ;) You'll find out. The story is going to get more interesting soon, I promise. I hope to update by tomorrow or so, let's see how many reviews we get. I loved the reviews you left me guys! Thank you so much, it means so much to me. So before I begin to bore you, Goodbye & I hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_Thanks to_

_Lou187__- You left me two reviews, that's sweet._

_Mreow_

_Expe_

_Olllllllliieeeeee_

_Fortuona Black_

_Straight down from heaven_

_R-I-M __Your English is pretty good, don't worry._

_SuperSugerPop_

_Tiani__- My first review,yay!_

-Mischief Managed


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